


Locked Away In Love

by SterlingSilverSaveWithoutTheSilver



Category: the GazettE
Genre: Abuse, Character Death, Child Abuse, Mental Health Issues, Rape, Schizophrenia, Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-17
Updated: 2014-10-01
Packaged: 2018-02-17 17:20:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2317289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SterlingSilverSaveWithoutTheSilver/pseuds/SterlingSilverSaveWithoutTheSilver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Uruha and Ruki are locked in their home. Their parents are uncaring, abusive and are clinging to a reality that is now in the ground. The two decide to come up with a plan to escape their own home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tonight

 "What's outside?" I ask as I see kids run by every now and then, wishing I could join them. "What's outside" I ask again, hoping that one of them will answer me. I want some kind of acknowledgement, some kind of love. My pleas disregarded as noise as my parents just continue to go on about their business. In and out of the house as if nothing is wrong. Where they go, I don't know. I ask my brother Kouyou where they go everyday.

        "To work." He says every time.

        "What's work?" I ask every time.

        "I don't know." Is his answer always. I look out my small window, just large enough to see the seasons change. But there are times in the summer, when I see kids walking around the neighborhood, hand-in-hand with their parents. I wonder what that feels like. I hold Kouyou's hand a lot. But we don't walk anywhere. We can't leave the house. Ever. I don't remember when I have ever left the house. I have never felt an outside breeze in my short life.

        "Mommy, why can't I go outside?" I ask  _her_  this time. But once I finish, her hand raises and slaps me across the face. She's never hit me before. Daddy always does that.

        "Don't you  _ever_  ask that again." She says with panic in her voice and gets up to leave. I stand there with my face stinging like I had got stung by a jellyfish. Though I don't know what that feels like, I can only assume it's similar to this. I wish Kouyou was here to make me feel better as my daily tears ran down my face from the pain in my cheek. But he's with Daddy. Daddy often takes him to the basement but I don't know why. I can never open the door, it's always locked and I'm afraid to ask Mommy what Kouyou and Daddy are doing. I also never ask about the pictures of the brunett boy on our mantle. Or our walls or in the hallways and in my parents room. I don't see pictures of Kouyou and I. I never see him around the house. I don't even know who he is.

        "Kouyou, who's the boy on the mantle?" I ask him one night, as he's crying after coming from the basement with Daddy.

        "He's just a bad person Takanori. Don't worry about him." He tells me through his tears. Our shared room only has one light and that comes from the moon in the sky. "He was really mean to you, when he live here."

        "I don't remember him. Was he mean to me like Daddy?"

        "Oh yes. Yes he was. I would try to stop him from hurting you but he would push me away or lock me in the closet." He told me, crying harder. I didn't remember any of this so it didn't matter anymore to me.

        "I don't care Kouyou, as long as you tried to help me. What did he do to me?" Kouyou suddenly stopped crying, staring at the wall. He wouldn't stop shaking, it was only sign I had that he didn't just die right there. "Kou-chan?" He turned to me and pulled me into an embrace.

        "We're leaving Taka."


	2. The Great Escape

**4 Years Later**

        Dinner was quiet as usual. It was just just Mom and I eating. She made Shoyu Ramen. It was good but I wished Kouyou was here to eat with me but he was downstairs with Dad. Every time he was downstairs, Mom would have this look on her face. It was a cross between acceptance and disgust. I didn't know what it meant but every time she'd catch me staring at her she would replace her unknown emotion with a fake smile and gesture me to continue eating. I sighed looking at my food. It just wasn't the same without Kouyou, but then I heard the basement door open and I got out of my chair. Expecting Kouyou, I bumped into my Dad. I backed away since he looked angry and prepared for the worst. But instead walked past me.

        "Takanori, come back to the table. I'm sure Kouyou will be up here soon." I looked at the door instead of the direction of where my Mom's voice was coming from. I was tempted to open it and call down to Kouyou to see if he was alright. But then I jumped when I heard my Dad's booming voice shoot straight through me.

        "Takanori, come back to the table now!" He yelled and it was enough for me to run right back into the dining room. I didnt't look behind me to see if maybe Kouyou would've came up by now. I was scared that I would get into even more trouble. I quietly sat down, not looking at either of my parents and just finished my meal. By the time we were done, I saw Mom heating up another bowl.

        "Mom, are you hungry again?" I asked her putting my dishes in the sink. 

        "No, this is for Kouyou. He hasn't eatened yet." I then remembered that Kouyou hadn't come back up from the basement.

        "I'll go get him." I said trying to find an excuse of finally going into the mysterious basement. 

        "No, Takanori! Stay here, he'll come up when he's ready." I stopped right before my hand touched the handle and pouted walking back to the kitchen. 

        "What's he doing down there." I asked but she didn't say anything. Just then, the basement door opened. "Kouyou!" I exclaimed, running into him and giving him a hug. He didn't hug my back though.

        "Hey, Taka-chan." He said quietly. I pulled away and looked up at him. I hugged him tighter and tried to put a smile on his face but it didn't work.

        "Kouyou, come in and eat." Mommy said. She sounded like she was going to cry. I let go of Kouyou so he could go into the kitchen. His hair had gotten longer and I followed him so I could play with it while he ate. "Takanori, stop messing with your brother and go up stairs to the bathroom. It's almost time for bed." I walked towards the stairs, looking back at Kouyou who was eating slowly. Kouyou and I shared a room, in the attic. We've been there since we were kids, and now that we were teenagers it didn't seem like an efficent room for our ages. I went up two flights of short stairs and went to pull down the hatch to open up the stairs to the attic. There were three other rooms that were empty but Dad said the windows were two big for us to stay in either of them. I've never seen them though, so I can't take his word for how big the windows were. Then a thought crossed my mind. Dad wasn't around, and Mom was downstairs so maybe I could look very quickly at one of the rooms without getting caught. 

        I left the attic stairs down and went to a room that was next to my parents. I slowly opened the door to see the light on but that wasn't the only thing. There was a bed, posters of different Futbol players, trophies on a stand next to the door. It smelled nice. Clean, like someone would often come in here and dust everything off. I continued to walk in seeing a window facing the rest of the neighborhood. I ran to the window excited, looking at all the houses we lived by. They were huge, like I assumed ours would be. There were kids playing outside and I wondered why they weren't in bed by now. I looked behind me to see if anyone was around and I quickly opened the window. A warm breeze rushed by my face and it felt like heaven. Laughter from the children playing outside was louder now and I wished I could be out there with them. This room belonged to someone. When I turned towards a table on the side of the bed, I saw the brunett again. The one that was all around the house. He lived here? I looked back out the window and saw someone standing in front of our house. It was a girl, I didn't know her. I've never met any of the kids she was playing with. She waved at me.

        "Hi!" She called out, her voice was small, shrill, inviting. I was overwhelmed but it didn't stop me from raising my hand, waving back at her too like I had done this all my life. 

        "Hi! H-how are you?" I asked her and she walked closer to the gate that was around the house.

        "I'm fine! Want to come down and play!?" Yes! I do more than anything! "My name is Ikuko and I'm 13! What's your name!?"

        "Um, Takanori, I'm 14!"

        "Ay! No fair, you're older than me!" She said laughing, I laughed too for the sake of her laughing. "So, do you want to play or no!?" 

        "Um, I don't think I can!" I felt a hand grab my arm. I prepared myself for the worst but I found myself staring at Kouyou.

        "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He asked, his voice distressed and angry. 

        "Talking to Ikuko." I admitted, shaking with fear. "Don't tell Dad." He exhaled, letting my arm go. 

"Why would I do that?" He asked and walked over to the window. "Hi!" He called out. "I'm his brother, Kouyou."

        "Hi, Kouyou! Wow, you look pretty!" She giggled. "Do you want to come and play with us?" 

        "No, we have homework. Maybe some other time!" He lied. 

        "That's too bad, well okay! See you around! Bye, Takanori!"

        "Bye, Iku-chan!" Kouyou closed the window after I finished saying goodbye and pushed me out of the room. "Kouyou, who's room is this?" 

        "No one of importance." 

        "Did he live here?" I asked as he closed the door quietly and pulled towards the attic stairs. "I can't believe I met someone. Kouyou, I have a friend right? And you do too now. Iku-chan."

        "Stop it, she's not our friend. We don't know her, we weren't supposed to meet her anyway." 

        "Why'd you lie to her? We finished our homework earlier. And why were those kids out so late? Aren't they supposed to be inside by now. It's 5:00pm." 

        "They do things differently than we do. Don't think about it too much though." How could I not? We were in our room now and he closed the door and put our dresser over it like he always did, to keep Dad out. 

        "Kouyou," I started sitting on my bed. "What do you and Dad do in the basement?" He didn't answer me and just got out my and his night clothes. 

        "Change, and turn around alright." I sighed. 

        "We're both boys, I don't see why it matters." 

        "Just turn Taka-chan." I turned around taking off my shirt and putting my night shirt on along with my pants. "It's not something that you should know." 

        "Kouyou, you said we were leaving. When?" 

        "I don't know, why are you asking so many questions all of a sudden? You can turn back now." 

        "Well, after talking to Ikuko, and seeing the kids playing and feeling the air. I want more of it. And you said that we were going to leave. So, when are we?"

        "Maybe never. Just go to sleep, alright. I don't want to talk about it anymore." I sighed, lying down as he went to close the curtains by the small window in the center of the wall. I was never able to actually sleep until later so I would just lie here and think about tomorrow and how it would be exactly the same as today. And the next day will be just like it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        After a few hours of uninterrupted sleep, I heard yelling downstairs and I jolted straight up. I've never heard anything like this at this time of night. I looked over to see if Kouyou was still asleep but he was gone. I looked and saw that the dresser was moved over. I got out of bed and opened the attic door to see if I could hear anything. 

        "You're so selfish, Kouyou! Your father does so much for us and you can't sacrfice a little of your time to be with him!?" 

        "You really don't know what's going on, do you!? Are you really that blind!?" I got scared and closed the door. I've never heard Kouyou talk to Mom or Dad like that. I wondered what would happen to him if he continued and that scared me even more. 

        "I know. I know what's happening but if I stop him we'll be lost! You'll be putting me and your brother out on the street is that what you want!?" 

        "What I want is a Mother that gives a shit!" I opened the door back, and climbed down. I needed to stop him before it got worse but once I reached the stair case, I heard Dad's voice. 

        "What did you say to you Mother?" Shut up Kouyou. Please don't say anything.

        "I said, I wanted a Mother who would give a shit, not her. And I don't want you." I continued down the stairs quietly and went to the living room. The kitchen and living room were next to each other so I could hear everything clearer. Dad was talking again.

        "Who do you...think you are talking to her like that!?" There was silence. I peeked around the corner looking at the scene. Kouyou had his head down. He was afraid of Dad, but not so afraid. 

        "Why do you do it?" Kouyou began. "In the basement, why do you do that to me!?" His voice startled me and moved behind the wall again. My Mom was pressed against the sink and could see me. She shooed me away, and mouthed to me to go back to my room but I shook my head. I didn't want Kouyou to get hurt so I was going to stay down here. "He got it from you, didn't he?" 

        "Kouyou, stop now!" My mom screamed. 

        "Yutaka? He was crazy as hell and he got it from you! And you two worship him despite what he did to Takanori! He was baby, and you let it happen!" Let what happen? What happened to me? I was curious now and angry that they've been hiding something from me. I came out of my corner.

        "Who did what to me?" I said, trying to make my voice less shaky as possible. "Is Yutaka the boy in the pictures? And the room upstairs?"

        "How do you know about the room?" My Dad stampeded his way towards me, his eyes buring down at me. And I cowarded a little stepping back, but he got closer to me. "Answer me now!? Or we're going to the bas-."

        "Don't you dare touch him!" Kouyou came over pushing Dad away from me, and pushing me back. My Mom just stood there, watching the whole scene take place. My Dad came over smacking Kouyou to the ground, and I screamed when I saw Kouyou hit the ground. I got the ground to see if he was okay because he hit his head on the impact. 

        "Kou-chan!? Kou-chan, are you okay." I saw a gentle nod but he body was suddenly being pulled away from me. I saw my Dad tugging Kouyou from his legs and pulling him towards the basement. Kouyou kicked him with his free leg but that was grabbed as well, and he was being pulled quicker. I grabbed his hands as he desperately reached out to me...and Mom. But she did nothing. 

        "No! Let him go, Dad please!" 

        "Shut up!" He let Kouyou go a little to open the door and Kouyou got up and I grabbed him but he was yanked out of my weak grip.

        "No, please!" Kouyou screamed. "N-no, no!" He cried being pulled and I couldn't do anything. The door slammed closed and was locked. My breath was shaky as I continued to hear screams and thuds subside down. But they didn't stop. You could hear them through the floor. I looked at my Mom who sighed. I went up to her and slapped her. 

        "You don't care." Was all I could say. I ran to the garage door that was inside the house and went in to look for something to break the door with. The only thing that went through my head was what was happening to Kouyou. It was my fault. If I hadn't attempted to grow balls and stand up to Dad, he wouldn't be in the basement. I didn't care about me. Didn't care about this person, Yutaka. I only cared about getting Kouyou out. But the only thing I could find was a rusty shovel that was in the corner, next to a car. I ignored my fear of spiders and grabbed it, holding on to it tightly. When I came back out, I didn't bother closing the door. but I saw my Mom...no Yoshimi...she wasn't my Mom anymore. But I saw her just sitting on the couch crying, instead of calling the police. I went in front of the door but started to here fast steps, speeding up the staircase. I backed away in time when the door flung up. It was Kouyou. Underneath his eye was bruised and his upper lips was messed up, and the only thing he had on was his t-shirt that was long enough to cover himself. He slammed the door back and grabbed my shovel leaned it against the doorknob to prevent it from turning. There was a loud bang on the door and it made us both jump back. I heard a muffled voice yell from behind it.

        "Come on!" Kouyou said grabbing my hand. We went upstairs and he went into our parents room. "Go to the attic...and get a bag and clothes for yourself."

        "What about you?"

        "There's a bag underneath my bed. Already packed. Go now!" I ran to the stairs leading to our room and went under my bed and found a back pack that I used to play school with Kouyou. I pulled it out and went to our dresser, stuffing as many things that would fit. As I was doing so, a lot thought came into my mind. What did Dad...Seiichi...do to Kouyou? Where were we going to go? Kouyou came up the step and he was holding a red and black duffle bag. "Taka, you have to move faster. We don't have much time. He said, going over to his bed and pulling his bag out from under the bed. I started to cry. "Hey, hey." He said putting his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. "It's okay sweetie, we're going to be okay. I'm going to take care of you. So, don't worry about anything. Keep going." I nodded and we pulled apart. 

        I was finished packing and we were getting other things we may have needed. He showed me was in the duffle bag.

        "Mom and Dad's insurance money on Yutaka, when he died." 

        "Who's Yutaka? The boy in the pictures?"

        "Yes." 

        'Who is he though? Did he live here." There was monsterous crash downstairs. "Dad go out." I said, tears pulling my eyes. Kouyou cursed to himself and grabbed my hand. Our bags were on our backs and we went into Yutaka's room. Kouyou locked the door.

        "Open the window Takanori!" Kouyou exclaimed, pushing Yutaka's dresser in front of the door. It knocked down everything that was on top. 

        "The window is open Kouyou!" Kouyou stood in the middle of the room looking at everything. 

        "Takanori, help me with this. Tear everything down."

        "Why?" He didn't respond and started to take the pictures of Yutaka and our parents and throwing them against the wall. I began to help him, still not understanding the purpose. I looked inside the drawers of the bedside table and saw a small picture of Yutaka, younger holding a little baby. "Kouyou, who is this?" He stopped tying the bedsheets together and looked that the picture. 

        "That's...me." He replied and went back to tying the blankets and sheets together. I put the picture in my pockets started helping him. "Okay, throw this end out the window." I looked down out the window and it seemed like a long way down. "It's looks further than it actually is Taka, trust me. " How would he know? But I erased the thought from my mind, and threw my end out the window. It almost touched the ground. "We'll have to jump the rest of the way but it'll be alright. Want to go first? Or me so I can caught you on the way down.

        "Catch me?" He nodded, kissing my forehead and cheek.

        "I love you, Takanori." 

        "I love you too." 

        "I'll move quickly but if he somehow gets through, you come down right away okay?" I nodded. "Okay?"

        "O-okay." He began to climb down and I heard the bed screech across the wood floor. He tied the other end to the leg of the bed. I looked back down and he was already almost there. He jumped down and landed fine. 

        "See? Come on, your turn." I nodded and turned around and stuck my legs out hanging onto the sheets.  I heard a loud bang on the door and moved the dresser a little bit and I froze. "Taka, no! Come down now!" I shook my head, to wake myself up from my hazed state and climbed down slowly, trying not the fall. There was another bang and it kept me from moving again. "Taka, please sweetie. It's going to be okay!" I breathed heavily, nodded, and moved down again. I was running out of sheets. "Okay you have to jump now."

        "No!" 

        "I'm right here, under you." I closed my eyes and let go. It happened in a split second and  I was in Kouyou's arms. "See?" He said smiling, still beautiful despite his bruising.  I smiled back. "Okay, let go." I looked down to see grass. Actual grass. I reached down and touch it and it was soft. It was also scratchy but in a good way. I stood up and ran with Kouyou. Fresh, cool night air touched my face and went up my nose and in my lungs. The way our feet sounded when it hit the concrete was surreal and the stars seemed brighter tonight, and thats when I realized. We were finally free.

**N/A: Ignorance Is Bliss by Kendrick Lamar inspired this chapter. Definitely recommend listening to.**

     


	3. Daredevils

        "Two for Shinjuku-ku." Kouyou said to the bus driver. He looked at us with questionable eyes. Studying our clothes and our chests moving fast from being out of breath.

        "Please?" Kouyou said, his voice on the edge of tears and he handed the driver more than enough money. The driver sighed.

        "Keep your money. Go ahead and sit down."

        "Thank you." Kouyou bowed and I did as well. We sat down in the middle of the shuttle and saw that only one other person was sitting on the bus with us. I looked at him as he sat in the back looking out the window. He looked at me and smiled. I smiled back and waved. "Takanori, sit down." Kouyou told me and turned around and sat in my seat. 

        "There's a nice man behind us. Maybe he could help."

        "We don't know him. Don't look at him." But I couldn't help it. I wasn't good with looks but he looked like he was our age. He had dark black hair and something on his lip. It was shiny. He was cute too and I wanted to talk to him maybe be friends with him like I was with Ikuko. I got up from our seat. "Taka, sit down." I ignored Kouyou and went to the back of the bus to sit near the mysterious raven man.

        "Hi." I started. He looked at me and smiled. He sat up from his slouched position.

        "Hello." He said smiling, his voice was deep and resonating. It made me shiver. Kouyou came back to pull me towards the front.

        "I'm sorry if he was bothering you."

        "No, not at all. Just being curious. I'm Yuu Shiroyama. And you guys are?" Kouyou sighed in defeat and I smiled at Yuu.

        "I'm Takanori, and this is Kouyou! We're brothers!" Kouyou faked a smile and sat down in the seat next to mine.

        "You guys don't get out much do you? At least you don't Takanori. You shouldn't approach people you don't know. It's not safe." 

        "But you looked so nice, how could you be mean like Dad?"

        "Taka, stop. I'm sorry, he just doesn't know when to stop talking. We don't have many friends." Yuu raised an eyebrow at my last statement and he understood what we meant after Kouyou tried to stop me. 

        "I see... Where are you two headed?" 

        "Shinjuku-ku." Kouyou spoke quickly before I could reveal that they had no where to go. 

        "Family?" Yuu asked, skeptically. 

        "Yeah, family." 

        "I'm 14! I'm older than my friend Ikuko!" Yuu chuckled a little.

        "Oh really? I'm 16, I'm older than my friend Akira as well." 

        "Kouyou is 16! You guys are the same age." Kouyou smiled a little at me and looked back at Yuu. Yuu smiled and looked at Kouyou.

        "Well, isn't that extraordinary. You're very pretty. As anyone told you that?" 

        "You come on strong. As a matter a fact, you're not the first." 

        "No, of course not. That would be a disgrace if no one else could see your beauty." I rolled my eyes. They kept staring at each other and it was getting awkward so I decided to stir the conversation my way.

        "So, what's your friend Akira like, Yuu-chan?" 

        "He's nice, a little rough around the edges but you'd get used to it." 

        "Is he mean?" I asked.

        "A little, but I find it funny that a 15 year old like him can be so abrasive. So where in Shinjuku-ku are you headed? I can walk you there if you like." Kouyou shook his head.

        "No, it's fine. We know the way." 

        "It's late though, you shouldn't be out by yourselves."

        "We're not a bunch of girls, we can walk ourselves. But thank you." I pouted looking at Kouyou.

        "But I want Yuu-chan to come with us. He's nice." Yuu smiled at me. Kouyou sighed and nodded his head gently. His heart wasn't fully into the situation but Yuu could help us find our way around Shinjuku-ku until we figured out what we should do. The bus came to a stop and I looked out the window and saw building that touched the sky. What was this place? I have never since anything like it and I was eager to get off the bus. "Kou-chan, let's get off here." Kouyou was about to say something until Yuu jumped in.

        "It's not far from Shinjuku-ku if you don't mind a bit of a walk. I could show you around, this is Shibuya-ku." 

        "Please Kou-chan!"

        "Uh, how long of a walk?"

        "About 30 minutes. Is that alright?" Kouyou nodded and I jumped from my seat and practically ran off the bus. There were so many people walking around, everyone so busy. This late at night. "Takanori please be careful." Kouyou said grabbing my hand. "You can get lost easily out here." 

        "There are so many people out, and it's late!" Yuu laughed.

        "It's only 9:00pm and it's Friday but you should see it on Saturday nights. It's crazy. Akira and I usually come here to eat or see a movie." 

        "Is Akira you're only friend?" Kouyou asked him.

        "Well, I don't think so now." 

        "Okay, well can you take us to Shinjuku-ku."

        "Not until you see the greatness of Shibuya-ku! You guys must be from a small town so you don't get much Tokyo action. Well, I'll start off by saying that everything here is pretty face paced. You want to keep moving or else you'll just piss off the people walking behind you. Secondly, it's pretty rough here, not as rough as inner Tokyo but you can't be soft. Which you guys are but just stick with me."

        "Oh, yeah. I feel so safe." Kouyou said sacastically. I was too busy looking at all the lights that I didn't mind blinding me. There were so many sounds. People talking. Phone ringing. Car honking their horns at people walking across the street. 

        "Yuu-chan, how can so many people fit in one place?" Yuu laughed, staying close to us as we walked with a stampede of people. 

        "They just do. They sort of fit themselves in one place. But wait until you see that train terminals. They're ridiculous."

        "How so?" Kouyou asked.

        "Too many people trying to get to the same place at the same time. They kind of just stuff you into a train car and let you go!" 

        "Sounds dangerous."

        "Yeah, it is!" I caught Kouyou smile a little at Yuu's excitement. I held on to Kouyou's hand tightly because more people were around and it was too overwhelming. 

        "Kou-chan, I'm tired." I told him, yawning.

        "Sorry Taka."

        "You guys can stay with me!" Yuu said, clasping his hands together. "I don't live far at all, and I'm sure Obaa-chan wouldn't mind some more mouths to feed."

        "Really?" Kouyou asked sarcastically.

        "Yes, she would. But she'll be alright. I'll take care of you guys. And you'll be able to meet Akira. He lives down the street from me." I let go of Kouyou's hand and ran up to Yuu.

        "You live with your grandmother? Where are your parents?"

        "Takanori!" Kouyou scolded me.

        "No it's fine. I never met my parents, I always had my grandmother. Which I'm fine with! Akira has his folks though and a sister, but he usually hangs out with me because they annoy him or something." Yuu said laughing. 

        "How far is it to your house?" I asked.

        "Taka, we're not staying with him. We're going to Shinjuku-ku alright?" He grabbed my hand and stopped. "Thank you, Yuu-san but we're going to go on our own now." He bowed but I just pouted.

        "It's not safe to go to Shinjuku-ku looking like that."

        "Like what?" Kouyou asked, gritting his teeth. "Don't say it actually, I don't want to know what you're thinking."

        "What?" I asked.

        "Your brother has a very rare trait that he was born with, it's called-"

        "If we stay with you, will you shut up!?" Yuu smiled at Kouyou's anger and nodded.

        "Yes, I will. This way please."

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        The lights of Shibuya-ku were now fading and we entered a dimly light yet big neighborhood. There were teens outside walking around laughing and suddenly I felt normal because we were doing that too. Well with Kou-chan and Yuu-san, it was more like arguing. He were slowing down in front of this big brown house, with a darker brown padoga roof. It was a traditional house and the yard had a lot of red and pink flowers. 

        "Must be crazy here on Valentine's Day." Kouyou commented, recieving a chuckle fromm Yuu who shook his head.

        "No, Obaa-chan just likes pink and red." There was someone waiting outside of Yuu-san's door. "Ay, Akira? You get locked out again, bonkura!?" 

        "Shut up man. Who are your friends?" Akira asked, looking at me. I hid behind Kouyou a little. I got nervous from his staring eyes.

        "Hitch hikers, runaways, etc. They need a place to crash."

        "We're not runaways. My brother is just tired so Yuu-san is letting us stay here for the night." Akira walked closer to us and Kouyou pulled me back. He went into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and lighter. I know this because our Dad smoked too and it would smell awful. He pooped one into his mouth, and started to light it, blowing his first puff out towards us. 

        "Yuu-san, huh? So formal." He chuckled and looked down at me.

        "Hey, Baka, stop antagonizing them. Come on Kouyou." Kouyou's face was one of disgust and anger as he looked at Akira. Kouyou moved me in front of him to get away from Akira quicker, but he was mesmerizing to me. I kept looking back at him despite Kouyou's scolding me not to. Akira and Yuu-san had this mysterious, devilish vibe and I liked it. I knew Kouyou did too but he was too busy thinking about me all the time. Yuu-san let us in his house and a light coming from what seemed like the kitchen was on. There was sweet scent in the air. Something I'd never smelled before. Yuu-san took our bags and put them by the door. Akira was the last one to come in. 

        "Obaa-chan, are you cooking this late?" A lady, that looked too young to be a grandma appeared in front of the door way. 

        "I knew Akira would be coming over soon, so I had to make something to keep his mouth preoccupied." She smiling but then looked at us. "But I wasn't expecting anymore guests. Yuu-chan, who are they?" She asked as she went back to cooking her sweet meal. Yuu-san offered Kouyou and I a seat at the table. 

        "Um, just some people who need to crash for the night. Hope you don't mind." 

        "I don't mind as long as it's just for tonight." She responded. She had long brown hair that was curled at the tips, and her skin was almost pasty but was sprinkled with small freckles here and there. She was wearing a red blouse and a black skirt. 

        "Obaa-chan, why are you still in your work clothes? Did you just come home?"

        "Hai, I did. There was an emergency at the hospital that needed to be taken cared of, but it's fine now." She said, coming over with plate. I didn't know what I was on it but it smelled heavenly. "Akira, sit down please. And I told you about smoking in my house didn't I?"

        "Yes, ma'am you did." Akira responded, opening a window that was behind Kouyou and I, throwing the cigarette out.

        "And leave the window open to let that smell out. I don't know you kids smoke these days. Don't you know it's dangerous for your health?" She sat down with all of us, not helping here self to what she made. "I hope you two like anpan, it's Yuu-chan's favorite dessert. But, you can stay in the guest room next to Yuu-chan's room. You two can decide amoungst yourselves who gets the bed." She said getting up from her chair. She struck as a woman who didn't like sitting down for too long and since she worked in a hospital, she must be always rushing and what not. "Akira, I want you to go home after you finish. I don't want to hear your Mother panicing again over you being 'missing'." Akira nodded in responce and she left the kitchen and headed towards the stairs. I looked at the anpan in the middle of the table and since Kouyou wasn't taking on, I wasn't going to either. 

        "You guys better get one before Yuu, eat them all." Akira teased. I shook my head but the odds were against me when at the same time my stomach growled. "You're hungry eat." I looked at Kouyou for conformation and he gently nodded, sighing as he looked around the kitchen. "Okay, I'll say it. What happened to you face Kouyou?" Akira asked. " I mean, are we going to ignore something like that?"

        "Shut up Akira." I heard Kouyou exhale sharply. He always did that when he was about to cry.

        "You don't call me by my name if you're going to act like that." 

        "Hey, Akira, shut up alright! Leave him alone. If he doesn't want to talk about, don't force him." Yuu defended Kouyou after seeing tears fall from my brother's eyes. He wiped them quickly and stood up. 

        "Yuu-san. Could you tell me where you bathroom is?" Akira stared at Kouyou, his eyes traveling. 

        "Yeah, it upstairs to the right. Towels are in the white cabinet next to the door." 

        "Thank you. Takanori." I got up, taking my food with me and following him upstairs. We both grabbed some towels and went into the bathroom. Kouyou closed and locked the door.

        "Do you think that they'll come in here?" I asked him as I turned around for him so he could take his clothes off. 

        "We don't know them, so we shouldn't trust them We shouldn't even be here."

        "Well, we don't even know where to go. What other choice do we have?" Kouyou sighed and turned on the water. I was about to turn around but he told me not to. "Why not Kouyou?" I turned. I saw colors that didn't match his skin. Black, blue, green. "Kou- what?" 

        "I told you to turn around." He said, holding back tears. I couldn't turn around. There were bruises all over him. His arms and thighs. There were burn marks on his stomach, that looked like they were from cigarettes. 

        "Is this what Dad has been doing to you? Why didn't we leave sooner?" I said, getting closer to him but he backed away.

        "Turn around Takanori!" He covered his mouth. His voice startled me and I walked past him and opened the door. 

        "I'll just wait for you to come out." Kouyou didn't stop me but just covered himself with a towel when I opened the door. I closed it and I saw Yuu-chan's grandmother. "Excuse me, I'm sorry for our loud outbursts." I said, walking past her and into the guest room. I could feel her eyes on me but they weren't a fierce glare like I expected. They felt concerning. 

        "Um, Takanori was it?" I looked back and nodded. "We have another bathroom, if you want to use that one. Come on." She grabbed some towels for me and lead me to what I assumed was her room. She turned the bathroom light on and let me go in. "If you need anything you can ask me." I bowed to her.

        "Thank you." 

      


End file.
